Welcome to 2018! As we turn the calendar on a new year many will be embarking on a new fitness routine. With more people getting started in fitness there will be more injuries on the way. What can we do to make sure our fitness efforts are safe and effective?One of the things we want to make sure to do is to warm-up properly for exercise. If you've ever attended a track and field meet and watched the 100 m race you'll notice something.Although these athletes will only race for 10-12 seconds depending on the level, they will warm-up for much longer than that. Elite sprinters won't arrive at the track 30 minutes before their race to lace up and pull a heel to their glutes. Instead their warm-up could last hours. And this is to enhance their performance and to minimize injury.So what does a warm-up do?A warm-up helps accomplish a couple of things. It helps improve muscle dynamics so we are less inclined to injury It helps prepare us for the demands of sport (or exercise)Regarding reducing the rate of injury, over 30% of sports/training injuries are related to skeletal muscles so it makes sense that we would want to prepare them adequately for the demands to come.Are there different ways to warm-up?Well are the different ways and different types. In terms of types we can think of active and passive warm-ups. Active warm-ups are things we do ourselves by moving our bodies. And these can be general, like jogging or ridding the bike before a training session, or specific with movements that mimic the demands of the sport or activity.Warm-ups can also be passive where we are warmed by external means. This could be by sitting in a sauna or a hot tub or having a warm shower.Does the...